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There is a lot to Path of Exile for a new player and we’ve got some strong tips to get you started on your playthrough. To get started, understand that there are a total of three acts and three difficulties. To get through all of the content in the game you’ll need to complete the game a total of three times. The difficulties are “Normal - Cruel - Merciless.

Build your Character’s Build at the Start

So you hit level 2, open up your skill tree, and then properly feint from the depth of the listings. Congratulations, welcome to Path of Exile. Your first goal is to actually figure out how you’ll spend your hundred some odd points. The best tool for that is the skill calculator on the website.

You may ask why you need to do that at the very start, well it’s to first get over the anxiety that every point you spend is pretty much more and more permanent the further you get into the game. Respecs come one point at a time, so you’d need 120 skill respecs at maximum level to get all the way back to the start. If you figure your build out at the start, then you can spend your points as you level up and be rather happy.

This isn't even my final form!

One thing I’d like to note is that you can’t mess up too bad and restarting is the entire point of a game like this, so don’t worry too much about any mistakes and do lots of research.

Have Friends

This game is a lot easier when you have friends. Playing solo is viable, but there are just some quests that take a lot out of you if you don’t have others sitting around to support you. Like the ending of Act 1, the boss one shot my witch because I tried to do it solo. You can recruit friends in the city sections, on the global chat, or from your other friends who are out playing the call of duties or whatever.

Use the noticeboard in town liberally when you run into trouble.

Conserve

Be very conservative at the start, especially if you don’t have someone feeding you gold and items. Scrolls of Wisdom can buy powerful items, unlock powerful items, and become rather difficult to farm very quickly until a little bit later in the game. You’ll want to be cautious with using your resources until you start banking tons of them later on in the game.

Upgrade your Gear

Always try to upgrade your gear when you get the chance to. Gear in these games defines your character’s power and having more powerful gear makes you more powerful. So always be on the lookout for new and exciting gear and brush up on what the different stats mean. That’s actually most of the fun in the game is figuring out the loot and what is best and what is worst for your character.

Use Choke Points

One of the cool things about Path of Exile is that the mobs come in mobs. There are tons and tons of enemies at once, so many that it can be overwhelming. Always use choke points and then your AoE skills to lock them in. Choke points make it easier to only have a few enemies attacking you at once and forces the enemies to bunch up. For instance, running through a door frame and making the enemies come through the door is a really strong tactic, using a narrow hallway, or anywhere that forces enemies to clump up to take the most damage from your AoE.

Also take note that you can attack through doors (so can ranged enemies). Use this to your advantage to thin out a clump of enemies before you bust a door open and get surrounded.

There are a few other tips. Always carry a town portal scroll and use it before major act bosses. Be super careful with your passive skill points. Be thinking of your build as you’re leveling up and make sure to get the required skill gems for it.

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About The Author

Get in the bush with David "Xerin" Piner as he leverages his spectacular insanity to ask the serious questions such as is Master Yi and Illidan the same person? What's for dinner? What are ways to elevate your gaming experience? David's column, Respawn, is updated near daily with some of the coolest things you'll read online, while David tackles ways to improve the game experience across the board with various hype guides to cool games.